They can move, turn, grab a bar of chocolate and lethargically place it in your waiting palm. The best robots CES 2025 showed no revolution in the mobility department, at least compared to 2024. Instead, the robotics at this year’s CES — whether or not they best or the strangest— seemed focused on playing cute for the camera.
Last year’s best CES bots he brought us humanoid models like Unitree’s faceless H1 and Enchanted Tool’s Mirokai with probably too many faces. Those same robotics companies showed up at this year’s show with slightly improved models and — of course — the addition of AI chatbots. Smaller players weren’t alone in adding artificial intelligence to bots. Samsung and TCL have attracted audiences with their home robots full of vision and text AI models.
Yukai Engineering Mirumi
Why would you want a robot in your life? Well, because he’s so damn cute, that’s why. Yukai Engineering’s Mirumi is a tiny furry robot that sits in your pocket and stares at the people around it. It does nothing but stare, and the only sensors it has on help it recognize when people are around it. You position his arms however you like for a real Elf of a Shelf surprise moment when people walk into your bedroom. With all the bots on this list suggesting you need an AI machine in your home to ask questions, Mirumi wants to look cute. That’s how you succeed.
Metapet Noono
People are still going crazy over Tombot’s labrador robot Jennie and similar fuzzy robots. Honestly though, why not have more robot animals hanging around our homes? Metapet showed off its Noono AI robotic pet hamster at CES 2025. Ignore the big flashing light streaming from their noses. When you pet him, he reacts by arching his back. When it needs to be filled, place it in its own carrier type basket.
Samsung ball
Ballie was one of the stars of CES 2024, but for 2025 it got a few upgrades. With an improved AI model, the ball-shaped bot can now provide more specific answers to user questions. The bot should also offer faster response times, which was important for a demo where Samsung reps asked Ballie to recommend some wine choices. The rolling robot still has a projector screen that allows users to interact with it, though it might still be too slow for most users who expect instant gratification. Before you ask, Samsung hasn’t revealed anything about a possible release date or any additional information on possible pricing.
TCL Love
TCL’s concept robot was similar to Samsung’s Ballie except with a cute baby animal head. AiMe includes three “cores” that are full of different AI models. The drive core allows it to move, including speakers for sound. “Baby Core” includes more AI functionality, allowing it to use AI vision and speech to interact with users. There is a final “Mini Core” that can be detached and act as an AI link on the go. The demos TCL used to showcase AiMe at CES didn’t give us a good look at its full capabilities. Instead, we watched a baby bot roll around, blinking and offering us a taste of a future where cute bots take over.
Galbot Convenience Store Bot
Nvidia’s CES showcase included plenty of demos for the new GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards. However, the company also offered Galbot some space, using chip manufacturer data set for manual robotics. To demonstrate these abilities, Galbot had their humanoid roll up to a shelf full of candy and drinks, grip it with its toothy claws, and then very slowly drop the treat into the person’s hand. Were they able to keep their free snack? No, of course not.
Unitree Go2 Robot Dog
Unitree flaunted its bipedal G1 model at CES, though the robot remained motionless when we visited the robot company’s booth. Other reporters mentioned that the G1 tended to run at full speed towards the participants simply because the control person pressed the wrong button at the wrong time. Instead, Unitree had its bot four-legged dog, Go 2, perform tricks for us. The dog bot could walk on two legs, walk on its hind legs and perform spins with a simple command. The Go 2 has an ultra-wide 4D LiDAR sensor for environmental tracking. Even better, you can buy a small robot dog starting at $1,600. Compare that to Boston Dynamics’ similar robot dog Spot, which can cost around $74,500, and the Go2 seems a lot easier to control.
From Wed-Mon
Imagine the Pixar lamp mascots growing spider legs and wobbling towards you on wobbly limbs. Jzai’s Mi-Mo is a six-legged table with a lamp attached, but despite the initial fear, the bot is polite enough to wave to the surrounding CES attendees. Mi-Mo uses multiple models of AI vision to try to communicate with its surroundings, though it’s still relatively limited in what it can do. Its current design is not as fast as other Crab tables last year’s Carpentopod designbut maybe if these tables stay decent I can amuse myself by strutting around the house.
Roborock Saros Z70
Roborocks don’t usually generate as much excitement among roboticists as they used to, but once you add a hand, suddenly a device like the Roborock Saros Z70 seems new. The Z70’s “Omnigrip” arm component should track and pick up any fake socks on your carpet. It’s not fast, but if you or your kids are too lazy to bend down and pick up the trash from the floor, the Saros Z70 will do it for you.